Indian flood deaths blamed on 'mindless' construction

ALMOST 20,000 people are stranded and at least 1000 confirmed dead in the wake of extreme floods in northern India. Poor local planning and a destructive approach to development in the Himalayas have left the region vulnerable to floods and landslides – which will only get worse under climate change.

“The current devastation is largely man-made,” says Maharaj Pandit, head of the department of environmental studies at the University of Delhi. He blames “rampant unauthorised and mindless building” on the Himalayan flood plains, and deforestation. Cutting down trees loosens up the soil on mountainsides, making landslides more likely.

In addition, the government has earmarked 292 dams for construction in the Himalayas, which involves diverting rivers and increasing industrial traffic – all of which further destabilises soil. Moreover, in heavy rain, dam operators release more water to safeguard their structure. “Delhi, for instance, was flooded because the Hathnikund barrage in upstream Haryana released more water,” says Pandit.

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Bhupendra Nath Goswami of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology warns that the rapid bursts of heavy rain behind this flood are increasingly likely to happen. “The frequency of extreme rain events is increasing over the Indian continent.”

It’s not clear whether this flood is linked to global warming, but climate change does mean that such events are likely to happen more frequently.